(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved method and machine for automatically making wooden chair seats.
(b) Description of Prior Art
Machines for making such seats are known, such as that disclosed in Canadian Pat. No. 1,043,548, issued on Dec. 5, 1978. The present invention relates to an improvement of a machine of this type whereby the production time of the machine is greatly improved. A disadvantage of known machines is that some of the work stations are provided to effect more than one working function and this is time-consuming as a further station in the machine may be in a holding pattern awaiting for the machine board to be fed thereto. Another disadvantage of these types of machine is that the board is usually contour cut in a preliminary stage of the machine and it is therefore necessary in subsequent stages to have complex positioning elements to assure that the seat is positioned properly. Therefore, when a machine is adapted to cut a seat having a different contour, it is necessary to change the positioning elements at each of the downstream stations whereby to adapt to a new seat configuration.
A still further disadvantage of the prior art machines is that by providing various work functions at a single station, that station becomes cluttered with working parts and hydraulic and pneumatic lines making it very difficult to repair the machine due to its inaccessibility to some of the parts. Furthermore, there exists a requirement to discharge the boards more efficiently whereby these are not damaged. A further disadvantage of known prior art machines is that the hydraulic and pneumatic system serves to control all work stations of the machine and this greatly increases the chances of a failure in the machine. Also, a complex switching arrangement is required with such combined system and this slows down the cycle time of the machine.